GreenPepper Blog

Green Diesel Not So Smart For Autos

By Beth Starkin, GreenPepper

When I think of doing wrong by the environment, it’s typically in terms of non-sustainable practices, greenwashing and the like. But this interesting article  from the Irish Times has turned those ideas on their head a bit.

Turns out, some unsavory folks have been swapping in low-sulfur green diesel for traditional diesel and calling it the real thing. My first thought was, well, that’s not so bad. It’s a clever, albeit ethically questionable, way to get green diesel into more wide-spread use. Or, not so much, as this diesel is not actually meant for use in cars, but rather tractors.

This is damaging, not just to the cars it’s being put in, but to the overall adoption of green diesel fuels. There is now a contingent of auto owners who have had a very bad experience with green diesel fuel, in the form of a ruined motor.  My guess, is that many of these folks now become outspoken advocates against the adoption of greener fuels, lumping all options in with the ones that have caused them so much stress, taking the movement one step backwards.

While any long-term impacts of this are tough to say, and in all likelihood, rather minimal, it does make our jobs trying to advocate for these advances in clean energy that much more difficult. And it adds a new layer to the ever-growing list of activities that are having a negative impact on our environment. I can only hope stories like this remain the exception, rather than the norm.

Add Coal to Clean Energy Alternatives

By Beth Starkin, PepperDigital

As a nation, we’ve become fixated on clean energy, which is a good thing. But for most of us, that means biofuels, solar, wind and maybe a little hydro. In a departure from this, President Obama announced yesterday that coal will be a significant piece of the clean energy puzzle. While it’s true that coal will never be truly clean, in making this announcement, the President has brought attention to an important subject – that there is no silver bullet solution to our quest for clean energy, and finding ways to improve what we’ve already got will be just as important as finding alternatives.

All too often, our society focuses on the new “bright shiny object” of the day, fixating on the promising, yet unproven, new technology that offers the hope of clean, American-made power. And in this fervor, the tried-and-true, but boring technology gets all but ignored. The problem is that with new technology comes roadblocks and problems, and this has created a view that clean energy is decades away from being a fully viable, when the reality is that clean, American-sourced options are here today.

Adding fuel to the fire is that many of the companies behind the advances in cleaning up dirty technology won’t talk about it, because they are afraid of how what they are doing will be perceived among environmentalists. But if we’re going to solve our energy problems now, and not 10 years from now, they are going to have to take a page from Obama’s book, and start talking about how these technologies play in the clean energy mix and why they make sense for us to use today. The planet will benefit, and so will their business.

The Blue-Green Angels

By Matt Sloustcher, GreenPepper

Watching The Blue Angels soar over the San Francisco skyline this weekend was an amazing sight, one that I look forward to annually. This year, however, there was a new sound in the air. Since practice sessions began on Thursday, greenies have been grumbling about wasted jet fuel and the general environmental degradation caused by the event. I witnessed most of this online, but others mentioned it as we stood on my roof watching the sky. It should come as no surprise; in this new era of social responsibility, everything is being called out. There was tremendous fallout last week when the President and first lady took separate jets across the Atlantic to lobby on behalf of Chicago’s Olympic bid, for example.

On gut reaction alone, my feeling is that the tradition should live on. In addition to pure entertainment value, arguments can be made that the show boosts the Navy’s recruiting potential and inspires people to think about public service. But I wonder, shouldn’t the Navy use this opportunity to educate people on the efforts it is taking to clean up its act? For example, the Navy is pouring millions into researching alternative fuels and other forms of energy, but the Website makes no mention. If I had my way, the Navy would showcase its current efforts and make a pledge that they will work to make the event carbon neutral within a decade. That’s leadership.

The Green Rush

By Beth Starkin, GreenPepper

With the economy still shaky, and much of the country desperately needing new jobs as unemployment soars, it seems we are all looking at green as the best potential to find gold.  The $85 billion in stimulus funds have just added fuel to the fire, with everyone and anyone looking for the next great green opportunity to save us all.

It’s certainly refreshing to see so many individuals, investors and major corporations jumping on the green bandwagon, but it’s a little scary as well.  While there are some great ideas out there, there are also many half-baked ones, and with the mad rush to make all things green, it seems that we aren’t giving close enough attention to what is real and what’s just hype.  Unfortunately, the fall-out as we realize how much money has been wasted funding ineffective companies is going to ultimately make the road that much rougher for those with viable ideas and companies.

Take, for example, the recent ruling against Cello about fraudulent claims about their ethanol (it was actually entirely derived from fossil fuel, not renewable sources).  The rest of the biofuels industry is now left to clean up the mess, and convince increasingly skeptical officials, VC’s and consumers that the industry is in fact legitimate and holds promise.

So, while we definitely should keep the new ideas flowing and push funding to those that seem to have a place in our future, we need to go in with our eyes open and carefully pick the reality out from the hype. Otherwise, the industry as a whole is going to be negatively impacted by a few bad seeds.